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One of the most essential techniques for those who want to really start saving on their food costs is the “Pantry Principle”.
For those who are new to deal shopping, couponing or even buying in bulk, you may sometimes wonder whether it is worth it to put in the time and effort to find deals on random items each week or month.
Finding a great deal on coconut oil, for example, may seem insignificant when you think, “That’s all well and good, but after I buy my coconut oil, how do I save on the rest of the foods on my grocery list?”
Enter the Pantry Principle.
Here’s how it works:
- When you find a deal on a particular item, buy up as much at that sale price as your budget will allow.
- The next time you go to use that item, you will have more than you would usually purchase– the key here is that you got it all for cheaper than usual. Now, it won’t need to go on your list the next week (or month, or whatever).
- The next time you shop, stock up on another deal, as much as you are able. Now you have another item in abundance, and you will not need to buy it again soon.
- Over time, your stash of foods bought inexpensively begins to build up. As this happens, your need to add them to your shopping list and pay full price for them diminishes.
Now that you are well-stocked in many of the items that your family regularly uses, you will not need to go out and buy them each time you shop. Instead, you will “shop” from your stockpile.
This is where the Pantry Principle becomes truly powerful… instead of being at the mercy of the store prices of these foods or household items, the roles have reversed.
Now YOU are in the position of power. You set the price that you will pay. No longer will you be required to buy necessary items at the going price, but you will choose to buy them (and stock up once again) when the deal is sweet enough for you to consider it worthwhile.
Of course, there are some limitations to this principle. You probably don’t want to start stockpiling lettuce! However, there are plenty of foods and other products that this works very well with, such as canned or dry grocery (including bulk grains, dried fruits or nuts), toiletries or basic beauty items (toothpaste, soap, or shampoo), cleaning supplies or other household goods (batteries, lightbulbs or toilet paper). It also applies to any fresh produce that can be preserved, by canning, freezing, cold storage or dehydrating.
Image by Nany Mata
Implementing the Pantry Principle isn’t something that happens overnight, but you might be surprised by how little time it takes to begin to see its effects on your budget. Start by stocking up on one deal per month, or maybe every two weeks or even every week if you are able. The next month (or week) stockpile something different. Over the course of a few months, you will be amazed to find that your stockpile is growing and that your grocery costs are dropping.
Suddenly, a deal on coconut oil seems far more significant! It’s an opportunity to purchase at the best price, so that the next time you shop your money can be used towards another deal.
One of the ways that Saving Naturally will help you to save is by alerting you to fantastic deals on both smaller items (like individual cans of organic tomato paste or practically-free toothbrushes and floss) as well as on larger, bulk items (like 25 lbs of organic oats or a 5 gallon tub of coconut oil). My goal is to bring the deals that will stock your pantry straight to you, so you don’t have to search for them!
Great page! I actually have a budget-friendly blog in the works as well (not yet up, still working on it!) I do use the pantry principle to some degree, and its worked really well for me so far. Mostly I stock up on household products, paper goods like napkins (.39 for 200 Marcal Small Steps napkins!) and dry goods. I got really into the “grocery game” for a while, but since I’ve been eating more real food, I’m not as in to it. However, I have found that using the principles and applying them towards my own eating goals has been helpful in saving money. I wrote a post a while back about why I quit the grocery game – you can read it if you like – http://justaddlauren.blogspot.com/2010/04/why-i-quit-grocery-game-and-other.html
Once again I love the site (and Keeper of the home!) and can’t wait to see what is in store for it!
We buy our meats this way and never pay full retail. We stock up on beef for 1.98/lb and boneless skinless for 1.99/lb and Amish chicken for .98/lb. We save tons of money by filling our freezer with meats on sale.
Most of the other things I buy don’t go on sale, but I do try to buy whatever produce is in season and a good price. Meats, fresh produce, some can/frozen fruits and vegetables, and quinoa, amaranth, oatmeal, brown rice bread, organic butter, grapeseed/olive/peanut oil are the foods that we mostly eat. I also buy our eggs fresh from a farm and we buy some 100% grassfed beef each month from a farm for only 3.50/lb (normally, this kind of meat goes for 5 or 6/lb), but I found an afforable farm, which is a blessing too!
I really, really need to stock up my pantry. I’m hoping I’ll be able to have it well stocked after drying a bunch of garden produce. Especially since I hate shopping.
We try to use the pantry principle, but our food budget has been so tight lately that I can’t stock up too much past this coming week. Luckily, it should be easing up some soon. One of the big things we stocked up on was half a cow. It was a huge up front cost for us, but we got pasture fed, no hormone, no antibiotic beef (only butchered non-organic so they can’t get the label) for $2.30 per pound. Awesome farm to work with and our pig should be coming soon (about 1.00 per pound). Now, on to the other stuff…
If anyone has a deal on coconut oil, I’d love to hear it. I need some but never know if I’m paying too much.
I will definitely keep my eye out for good deals on bulk coconut oil from several different sources, Meredith! They pop up frequently from Tropical Traditions, Mountain Rose Herbs and Amazon. Stay posted! And great deals on the beef and pork!
I am a firm believer in bulk buys! I make soap and recently purchased my coconut oil (which I also cook with) from Jedwards at the 5 gallon rate at it was a huge savings over the $6.50/31 oz. I was paying, even with freight. Didn’t think about how I’d get a 50 lb. block of solid oil out of the bloomin’ bag, though! Does anyone have suggestions?
I do buy a few staples like bread, flour, and olive oil from Sam’s, but you really have to watch prices as many items aren’t necessarily the best deal if you compare with sales from local grocers. I also get quite a bit from our local farmer’s market where prices are already great, and even better at the end of the day.
We recently restocked our meat freezer after “it wasn’t me!” left the door open resulting in a total loss of all contents. (Fortunately it was only about 25 lbs. total.) We have 2 large freezers which we have recently filled with 80 lbs. ($10/40 lb. box) of chicken breasts & tenders when our local plant had an overrun, a hog from a friend who has 5 children who all showed hogs at the fairs, which totaled $1.50/lb butchered, our local grocer had freezer failure and we bought two grocery carts full to overflowing of frozen fruits, veggies, ice cream, and family style meats for $150. I canned quite a bit for longer shelf life. I also hunt and hope to fill my limit of 4 deer in the next few weeks. We are only a family of 4, but we enjoy sharing meals with friends & family (rotational dining is fun!) and potluck events at our local church. Sometimes the budget gets squeezed when the good deals appear, but we have saved hundreds of dollars by buying this way.